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This paper presents the participatory visual research design and findings from a qualitative assessment of the social impact ofbazucoand inhalant/glue consumption among street youth in Bogotá, Colombia. The paper presents the visual methodologies our participatory action research (PAR) team employed in order to identify and overcome the stigmas and discrimination that street youth experience in society and within state-sponsored drug rehabilitation programmes. I call for critical reflection regarding the broad application of the terms ‘participation’ and ‘participatory’ in visual research and urge scholars and public health practitioners to consider the transformative potential of PAR for both the research and practice of global public health in general and rehabilitation programmes for street-based substance abuse in Colombia in particular. The paper concludes with recommendations as to how participatory visual methods can be used to promote social inclusion practices and to work against stigma and discrimination in health-related research and within health institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of formative research conducted from January to June 2020 in the Department of Atlántico, Caribbean region of Colombia, whose findings were used as inputs to design the national strategy for comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) outside school – Tírala Plena – including its curriculum. This is within the framework of the multi-country project coordinated by UNFPA and WHO aimed at generating evidence on the role of facilitators in the delivery of CSE in non-school contexts. The research was carried out in four municipalities in northern Colombia, in rural and marginal urban contexts with conditions of vulnerability for the adolescent population, including a strong presence of migrant populations from Venezuela. A total of 150 male and female adolescents ages 10–17 participated in the formative research. Workshops such as patchwork quilt, body mapping and talking maps were used as methods to gather information. The groups were divided by sex and age (10–13 years old and 14–17 years old). Knowledge, attitudes and social norms regarding adolescent pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, including human immunodeficiency virus, and gender-based violence, were identified in adolescents (schooled and not schooled, but with minimal or no access to CSE). All of the above enabled us to establish a set of recommendations for the strengthening of the CSE strategy Tírala plena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The neoliberal reforms of the early 1990s in Colombia, mainly labour and social security reforms, transformed capital-labour relations and contributed to the erosion of working conditions and health protection at work, with devastating impacts on workers' health. In the context of these dramatic changes, Colombian workers mobilised around collective identities that have shaped new forms of workers' struggle and resistance. Since 2006, associations of workers suffering work-related illnesses have been active in Colombia. The associated workers engaged in collective actions have demanded from employers, the Ministry of Work, occupational risk administrators, disability rating boards and the judicial system the recognition of certain diseases as being of occupational origin and that these entities guarantee corresponding labour, economic and social security rights. This paper describes and analyses the dynamics of the struggle for the right to health at work undertaken by these associations in Colombia, adopting an analytical perspective inspired by collective action theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is growing interest in studying inequitable gender norms and their impact on health and wellbeing, particularly among adolescents. Studies have shown that discriminatory gender norms limit girls' access to power within their families and communities, reduce their educational and economic opportunities, and alter their own aspiration and ambitions for their lives. This comparative qualitative study sought to understand how gender norms manifest themselves in the lives of adolescents in two distinct settings: Uganda and Colombia. A total of 133 young people aged 13–21 years from Colombia and 109 from Uganda participated in either focus group discussions or individual semi-structured interviews in May 2017. Results reveal similarities and differences in how norms are learned, reinforced and resisted and how intersecting social factors affect the ability of adolescents to facilitate norm change. A key similarity was the primacy of parents and peers in the transmission and reinforcement of gender norms. However, setting-specific material and structural factors shaped the manifestation of power and policing of gender norms as well as the ability of young people to contest them. Lessons are identified for the future design of effective gender transformative interventions with adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through qualitative data collected with women affected by drug use and drug-related violence in Bogotá, this article explores the convergence of harm reduction rationales and violence prevention programming in the urban margins to advocate for women's health empowerment and health rights as victims of intergenerational trauma and violence. We propose a methodological shift of public health praxis from street-based outreach models to intimate spaces of intervention for health outcomes embodiment1 as we continue to develop our community health model to work with marginalised communities in the urban global South. Through this work committed to social justice in marginalised urban communities, we seek to support women's health needs through harm reduction in historically marginalised communities in urban settings. Our results expose how multi-level gender-based violence affects women's health in their living spaces in the urban margins. Drawing from women's voices and narratives of urban violence, we call for a feminist alternative to traditionally masculinist and public-space oriented harm reduction practice for health empowerment in the urban margins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Addressing mental health needs is a central focus of the Colombian Government's framework for socio-political reconstruction following over 60 years of conflict. Informed by WHO standards, country efforts utilise biopsychosocial models that prioritise individual psychological and psychiatric conditions. However, increasing scrutiny of the deployment of Western approaches to mental health and recovery in the global south suggests a need to explore the best route to improving mental health outcomes. Our research contributes to these debates through a qualitative study of local understandings of mental health recovery related concepts among internally displaced persons in Colombia. Analysis of focus groups with 40 internally displaced men and women established definitions for emotional distress and recovery as parallel processes linked to the fracture and rebuilding of social worlds and family life. Definitions were shaped heavily by cultural, political, economic and legal contexts of everyday survival, often linked to experiences of structural and symbolic forms of violence. We conclude that a locally informed mental health recovery model that stretches beyond individual experiences of mental ill-health to promote ideas of collective social change would be best suited to addressing mental health needs of internally displaced groups in Colombia. Implications for practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data collection on noncommunicable disease (NCD) behavioral risk factors has traditionally been carried out through face-to-face surveys. However, its high costs and logistical difficulties can lead to lack of timely statistics for planning, particularly in low and middle-income countries. Mobile phone surveys (MPS) have the potential to fill these gaps. This study explores perceptions, feasibility and strategies to increase the acceptability and response rate of health surveys administered through MPS using interactive voice response in Colombia. A sequential multimodal exploratory design was used. We conducted key informant interviews (KII) with stakeholders from government and academia; focus group discussions (FGDs) and user-group tests (UGTs) with young adults and elderly people living in rural and urban settings (men and women). The KII and FGDs explored perceptions of using mobile phones for NCD surveys. In the UGTs, participants were administered an IVR survey, and they provided feedback on its usability and potential improvement. Between February and November 2017, we conducted 7 KII, 6 FGDs (n = 54) and 4 UGTs (n = 34). Most participants consider MPS is a novel way to explore risk factors in NCDs. They also recognize challenges for their implementation including security issues, technological literacy and telecommunications coverage, especially in rural areas. It was recommended to promote the survey using mass media before its deployment and stressing its objectives, responsible institution and data privacy safeguards. The preferences in the survey administration relate to factors such as skills in the use of mobile phones, age, availability of time and educational level. The participants recommend questionnaires shorter than 10 minutes. The possibility of obtaining data through MPS at a population level represents an opportunity to improve the availability of risk-factor data. Steps towards increasing the acceptability and overcoming technological and methodological challenges need to be taken. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding how Indigenous populations perceive HIV/AIDS is of high relevance for the implementation of culturally appropriate interventions. The study analyzed the ways in which Indigenous Wayuu communities of Colombia socially perceive and respond to HIV/AIDS from their sociocultural realities and their knowledge of the illness. It analyzed qualitative data from 9 focus groups and 29 semi-structured interviews. The Wayuu think of HIV/AIDS as “the illness”, that it is incurable, fatal, transmitted from alijunas (non Wayuu), and beyond their understanding. They seem to perceive HIV/AIDS similarly to the ways Western societies perceived unknown or misunderstood epidemics in the past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The community of El Codito, located in the mountainside on the perimeter of Bogota, Colombia, is considered one of the most vulnerable and resource-limited communities in the region. This community-based research (CBR) project used short message service (SMS) messaging as a tool for information access and social interaction with caregivers of people with disabilities (PWD). Method: Using a focused ethnographic method, this research evaluated the experience of caregivers participating in the project. In addition to primarily qualitative methods, supplementary quantitative message data was also collected. This project utilized free and open source software for SMS message distribution. Results: Caregivers experienced the project as a window to possibility; the possibility of a social support network, the possibility of community participation and the possibility of change. During the three-month implementation, a total of 56 information messages were sent to caregivers, 20 question messages were received from caregivers and 30 social interaction messages were sent by caregivers to the group. Conclusions: The proliferation of mobile phones in this resource-limited setting provided a feasible method for reducing the exclusion of PWD and caregivers. SMS was a useful tool for sharing information and reducing the isolation experienced by this socially excluded population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]